


Ferdinand

by Trainmaster64



Category: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Tragedy, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-01
Updated: 2011-11-01
Packaged: 2018-03-30 11:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3935077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trainmaster64/pseuds/Trainmaster64
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The engines begin to grow annoyed by Ferdinand's constant use of the phrase 'That's Right,' and of his general mannerisms. When they learn of the engine's past, however, they find out that this is not entirely his fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ferdinand

Ferdinand is a happy engine who works at the Misty Island Logging Depot. He has lived there with Bash and Dash all of his life, and is the oldest of the three engines. One would never know it by looking at him, though – Ferdinand looked youthful and vibrant, and always so very cheerful.

But some of the other engines did not like Ferdinand much. They disliked the simplistic way he went about his work, sometimes doing or saying things that were painfully incorrect or wrong – or even completely unrelated. Ferdinand was cheerful, but was also annoying at times.

The biggest problem that some of the engines had with him, which they were discussing one evening, was the overly-used ‘catchphrase’ that Ferdinand had become known for.

“That’s right, that’s right,” Gordon mimicked. “Honestly, it’s as if he can’t say anything else! Why can’t he just use some more words, I ask you?”

Emily agreed. “The way he acts sometimes, it’s as if he’s like those annoying tank engine twins on Edward’s branch line! He’s supposed to be a wise old engine, not like this!”

“And have you seen how he looks normally? He’s so –”

“SHUT UP!”

The engines jumped; it took them a moment to find where the exclamation had come from.

Then, they saw Dash, who had arrived with a small logging train from Misty Island. He was looking absolutely furious, shaking in an attempt to hold himself back from launching a fierce tirade at them.

Henry tried to restore peace. “Come on, Dash, we’re only –”

“SHUT UP! YOU SHUT UP ABOUT HIM RIGHT NOW! You don’t know ANYTHING about him!”

Dash was trembling from fury. The engines were very surprised – they had never seen Dash in such a state before. He looked as if he was about to cry, so great was the tension that held him in this state.

“Dash… we’re sorry,” James said quietly. “We didn’t mean anything by it. We know Ferdinand’s your friend –”

“No, he’s more than my friend. He’s my teacher and my student. He helped me learn how to be useful, and now I’m helping to teach him.”

“Dash,” Henry said softly. “What are you saying?”

“I’m… never mind. You don’t deserve to know,” he spat bitterly at them, taking satisfaction at watching them wince – that was a well-placed and justified shot at them all.

“Please, Dash. What do you mean? Help us understand,” Emily implored.

Dash looked angrily around them, before the memories began to fill his mind again. The engines were surprised to see Dash move from a state of anger to despair in seconds. Dash was nearly overwhelmed once again – this was not going to be easy.

“Ferdinand… he hasn’t always been like he is now,” Dash slowly began. “He used to be much smarter and wiser, and he helped me and Bash when we were new. He helped us out a lot… and then…” Dash forced himself to hold back his tears; he would NOT lose control when he had already begun his tale. “Ferdinand… he changed… everything changed…”

***

It was several years ago. Bash and Dash were new engines, assigned to work on Misty Island at the Logging Station there. Ferdinand, who had worked the line for many years before, was there to help them and see that they learned the rules well.

Unfortunately, the twins were cocky, as all young engines are at some point. They were of the strong belief that they knew best, and did not hesitate to let Ferdinand know. They believed that they were the smartest engines on the line, and that Ferdinand was simply too old to be as wise as he claimed.

To be fair, Ferdinand had been getting on in years. His paint was peeling and spots of rust were starting to grow on him. Nevertheless, he knew that the young engines needed guidance and leadership, lest they be allowed to run amok on the line. After a shaky start, the three became good friends – Ferdinand was to the twins as Duke was to Stuart and Falcon, in the Sudrian legends of old.

However, there were occasions when either Bash or Dash believed they knew better, and would try to show Ferdinand – unfortunately, one of these incidents led to big trouble.

***

The Shake-Shake Bridge was originally a strong structure, but suffered from poor construction and poor materials – the bridge had been primarily made of wood, which had rotted and grown weak over the years. A lack of maintenance had compounded the problem, until it had become dangerous for the engines to use.

Nevertheless, Ferdinand insisted that the bridge was still viable for crossing – so long as the engines all took care, and hurried across as quickly as they could. Bash and Dash enjoyed the way the bridge shook and swayed as they rolled across, and Ferdinand himself even enjoyed it a little bit.

One day, Dash arrived at the Loading Station, ready to pick up the logs. His twin, Bash, was already there being loaded by Ol’ Wheezy, while Ferdinand was resting in a siding for a moment. Dash was unable to move to the other side of the bridge to load up; Bash was taking up all the room.

Dash blew his whistle. “Hurry up, Bash! I need to be loaded up!”

“It’s Ol’ Wheezy’s fault,” protested Bash. “I’m going as fast as I can.”

“Just wait there, Dash,” Ferdinand called to him. “You’ll be able to cross over here as soon as Bash is finished.

Dash, however, was not keen on waiting by himself on the other side of the bridge. “I’ll wait on the bridge,” he called. “That way, I can move into place quicker.”

“No, Dash,” called Ferdinand. “Wait there. Stay back from Ol’ Wheezy when he’s working, and cross quickly when he’s finished.”

“I know what I’m doing!” Dash called. “That bridge is safe enough, and Ol’ Wheezy won’t be trouble today!”

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Dash moved to the bridge, rolling slowly forwards until he was halfway across, then stopped. The bridge swayed and shook beneath him.

“Go back right now!” Ferdinand fumed. “Get back at once! You’re not safe!”

“I am too! I know what I’m doing – the bridge’s fine! You’re just jealous that I know better than you!”

Ferdinand fumed. “Get back, Dash, NOW!”

“No! I’m fine –”

“WATCH OUT!” Ferdinand yelled, suddenly panicked.

Dash looked, and cried out in horror: Ol’ Wheezy was acting up again, and one of the logs was now sailing through the air straight towards him. Bash screamed, knowing what would happen to his twin.

But it never did.

With one deft movement, Ferdinand shoved Dash across the Shake-Shake Bridge and to safety, out of the way of the falling log. Before he could move, however, the log crashed down upon his smokebox at a sharp angle, snapping part of the bridge and sending Ferdinand tumbling to the ground below.

“FERDINAND!” cried the twins, as they rushed to help. They knew the river was shallow but they still raced to help their friend back to the rails.

Ferdinand was resting on his side in the bottom of the stream, steam leaking from his boiler and several fractured stays. His eyes were shut, rapidly moving underneath his eyelids – he was unconscious, knocked out by the blow and the fall. The twins knew they had to get him back to the rails and to a repair centre immediately – they could cry and worry for him afterwards.

Unfortunately for all three of them, there would be more suffering and anguish than any of them could have imagined.

***

The twins were anxiously waiting outside of the Steamworks on the Mainland. Ferdinand had been taken to a massive workshops, in a town called Swindon – it was the closest location to Misty Island, and the best on the mainland – the ‘Logging Locos,’ as they were known, would often be repaired here if it was severe enough.

Ferdinand had been taken in immediately; he had looked a terrible sight. Steam had been pouring from his boiler where he had hit the rocks below, and his smokebox had an odd dent in it – Ferdinand had been knocked unconscious and was out cold when he had been brought in. The twins supposed it was a small mercy – he didn’t need to be awake and suffering.

Then, the twins’ thoughts were interrupted by the presence of the Works Engine. A small, narrow-gauge engine, the Works Engine rolled up to the twins. “You’re here about Ferdinand, am I correct? From Misty Island?”

“Yes, we’re –”

“– supposed to work there with Ferdinand. How –”

“– is he? Will he be all right?”

The Works Engine was taken aback for only a moment, then recomposed himself before answering. “Ferdinand suffered an extensive list of damage done to him after that incident. Repairing him has not been easy… but we have been able to repair all of his physical damage.”

The Works engine paused, hoping that the twins would pick up on it right away. Unfortunately, the twins were too overjoyed at the fact that their friend would come through all right. The twins began to celebrate, thrilled that their friend would be back with them in perfect health before long.

“However, there is… a problem, you could say.”

The twins stopped celebrating at once, worried. “What’s happened?”

“Ferdinand’s mind was damaged extensively when he was hit with the log. Several connections in his mind were paralyzed or else damaged irreparably, and the fall afterwards did little to help. We’ve been able to repair his body, but his mind is… beyond our help. He’s running at a much lower mental state than he was before.” The engine said this quickly, hoping that it could lessen the blow.

It didn’t.

Tears welled up in Bash’s eyes as he struggled to comprehend what he had heard. “So, Ferdinand is…”

“He is, for lack of a better term, mentally disabled,” the engine said. “His mind has been hurt very badly by the accident. He can still think and act for himself, but he’ll never be who he once was.”

“He’ll recover, though, won’t he?” Dash asked desperately. “He’ll be back to normal soon.”

“No, he won’t.” The engine sighed, trying to hold back a tear at their desperate faces. “Ferdinand will never be who he was. He’s mentally disabled now. He’ll need special care and attention, for the rest of his life. He won’t be able to do some things anymore – though we have repaired his body. He’s as powerful as he ever was…”

“He just can’t think properly anymore,” Bash whimpered, beginning to cry.

“Not like he once did. I’m very, very sorry.” Carefully, the engine backed away to tend to another engine, not letting itself cry until it had gotten a good distance away from the sobbing twins.

***

“Come on, Ferdinand. You can do it.”

“I… I can?”

“Yes, that’s it. You can shunt those trucks into place. Go on!”

It had been a few months after the accident, and all three engines were back at work on Misty Island. Ferdinand was trying to shunt a train of log trucks into place underneath Hee-Haw. Bash and Dash were helping him, encouraging him to push the line forward. 

Ferdinand screwed his eyes shut, thinking very hard. Then, with a powerful shunt, he biffed the line of trucks forwards, sending them rolling past Hee-Haw and into the buffers. With a tremendous crash, the trucks crashed into the buffers, shaking as they stopped instantly.

“I did it! I did it!” Ferdinand cried happily. “I pushed them forwards… all by myself!”

Hee-Haw rocked and rolled around and around, malfunctioning again – it seemed to do that more than ever these days – and Ferdinand giggled, watching it spin. “Hee-Haw’s being silly! It’s making silly!”

“It sure is,” said Dash, his voice breaking. “Excuse me…”

Ferdinand watched Dash run away, his smile fading. “Why is Dash so sad, Bash? He should be happy… like Hee-Haw! He’s always happy!”

“He’s all right,” said Bash quickly. “Come on, Ferdinand; let’s shunt these trucks back in front of Hee-Haw. He needs to pick them up, doesn’t he?”

“That… that’s right!”

Bash and Ferdinand carefully moved the line of trucks back in front of Hee-Haw, and stood back while the crane began to unload the trucks. While they were resting, Ferdinand looked all around, confused.

“Where’s Dash, Bash?” Then, he began to giggle. “That’s funny. Dash, Bash, Dash Bash! I can’t say that too fast!”

Bash tried to laugh with Ferdinand; he managed a weak chuckle. “That’s right, Ferdinand.”

“That’s right!”

Bash stayed silent, as Ferdinand calmed down. “Where’s Dash gone? I want to see Dash!”

“Why don’t you go look for him, Ferdinand?” Bash suggested. “It would give you a chance to stretch your wheels.”

“I can’t stretch my wheels! They’re metal and small,” Ferdinand chuckled.

“Go look for Dash, Ferdinand.”

“All right. I’ll go look for Dash.”

Bash blinked back tears as he watched his friend and former mentor puff quietly away. It was all so very unfair sometimes.

***

Ferdinand found Dash in a small corner of the Logging Station, crying to himself. “Hi, Dash! Why are you crying?”

Dash immediately tried to stop crying. “F-Ferdinand! You sh-shouldn’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry, Dash… do you want to play with the trucks?”

“Not now, Ferdinand.”

Ferdinand was worried, though he couldn’t understand why. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, he had shunted the trucks all by himself… but Dash was clearly sad. “Dash… you’re sad. Why?”

“Ferdinand…”

“Why are you crying, Dash? Why are you sad?”

“Please, Ferdinand, don’t push me like this.”

“I’m not touching you, see!” Ferdinand huffed indignantly. “Why are you so sad?”

“Because it’s all my fault!” Dash screamed, causing Ferdinand to jump with fright. “It’s all my fault that this happened! I should have been more careful with the logs, I should have listened to you all along! Now you’re disabled and it’s all my fault! How can I even look at you anymore? I can’t even look at myself!”

Ferdinand began to cry, unsure why Dash was upset but wanting him to feel better. “Stop, Dash. Stop being sad. Please. That’s not right.”

“Look at yourself!” Dash sobbed, overcome with guilt and remorse. “Look at what you’ve become. You used to be so smart and sensible – now you can’t even do your old jobs the same anymore! I did that to you! I made you this way and I can’t take it back!” By now, Dash was so upset that he could barely speak, but when he did, the words were at a whisper pitch: “I wish I had been the one who had gotten hit with that log. I wish I were the one who was disabled, not you. I wish I were dead.”

“No, Dash, no! No, no, no, no, no! No, Dash!” Ferdinand wailed, understanding the most basic of Dash’s statements. “Don’t die, Dash, don’t die! I need you!”

“I used to need YOU! I used to need you to help me! Now I have to help you! It’s not right!”

“That’s… not right?”

“NO!” Dash screamed, absolutely sickened with himself and Ferdinand. “THAT’S NOT RIGHT! IT’S NOT FAIR! YOU – I – move… Ferdinand, move, I think I’m going to be sick.”

Ferdinand, however, couldn’t understand why Dash had stopped screaming. He simply sat, scared for his friend as he shook uncontrollably; then with a gasping retch, Dash vomited all over himself. Awful liquid spewed from his mouth as he lost control of himself, weeping as he vomited. Dash retched and shook, trying to rid himself of the horror that consumed and enveloped him. He needed to have things back the way they once were.

When Dash looked back up to see Ferdinand’s vacant expression, however, he knew that could never happen. “F-Ferdinand… I’m so, SO sorry,” Dash moaned, shaking uncontrollably. “I should have listened to you… I should have learned from you…”

“Learned what? Did I say something to you?”

“Yes, you did.”

“What did I say? I forgot,” Ferdinand puffed. “What did you need to learn? Was it something about trees? I like the trees here.”

“No,” Dash sighed. “It was about the Shake-Shake Bridge. You t-told me to be careful and to cross quickly… you told me to make sure I crossed quickly and to stay back when Ol’ Wheezy was working.”

“I said all of that?”

“Yes, you did!”

“I don’t remember that,” said Ferdinand thoughtfully. “I trust you. If you say I said it, I must have. I think you learned. You learned lots of things.”

“How?” Dash was genuinely confused; Ferdinand could be so confusing these days.

“You know you shouldn’t go over the bridge when Ol’ Wheezy’s playing. You know that you should cross quickly. You know what to do next time. You learned your lesson.”

Dash trembled; Ferdinand was correct. He had learned his lesson after all. The biggest problem he had was that it had come at a terrible cost.

“I forgive you.”

At once, Dash looked up, stunned. Ferdinand was smiling his vacant smile again. “Wh… what did you say, Ferdinand?”

“I forgive you. It was an accident. You didn’t mean to.” Ferdinand was beaming despite Dash’s torment. “You’re a good friend, Dash. You and Bash are my best friends!”

Dash shook, beginning to cry. It was all too much for him to bear. “You shouldn’t forgive me, Ferdinand. I don’t even forgive myself. How can you forgive me?”

“I like the birds. They’re nice.” Ferdinand’s mind had wandered to the birds, singing their sweet songs from the tip of a nearby Jobi tree. “Look at the pretty colors.”

Dash blinked away his tears, and gazed up at the birds with his friend. As he watched the birds in the tall Jobi trees, he smiled, realizing in that instant that while Ferdinand could never be who he was, he was still Dash’s friend. Dash knew he would do everything he could to help his friend. He and Bash would both keep Ferdinand happy and safe on their Island, content.

“I can see a yellow one, Ferdinand. Can you see a yellow one?”

Ferdinand looked for a moment. “Yellow… there it is! On the branch!”

“You’re right, Ferdinand! Good job!” Dash trembled slightly; this would be very difficult for him to accept fully but he knew he would. “You’re my friend, Ferdinand.”

“That’s right.”

“Am I your friend, Ferdinand?”

“Yes. Dash is my friend!”

Dash shook with emotion. “Come on, Ferdinand. Let’s get back to Bash. We can help him. Would you like that?”

“I want to go see my friend Bash!” Ferdinand said proudly, puffing away to find his friend. Dash followed behind, determined to help his friend and mentor him as he himself had been.

***

The engines had fallen respectfully silent as Dash had finished telling them his tale. Not one of them were smiling or making jokes about Ferdinand anymore; every engine in the yards was sombre and still, in utter shock that their friend could have such a problem.

Emily sniffed almost inaudibly, trying to stop her silent tears from falling while remaining inconspicuous. James moved slightly closer to Emily, and whispered something to her so only she could hear; upon hearing this Emily shook slightly, crying harder as James kept whispering. The red engine’s face was sombre and miserable.

Gordon was appalled and ashamed. “I didn’t… how he could… and I tried to take the Lion of Sodor away from him! Oh, the indignity! I’m so ashamed of myself right now,” he moaned. “I couldn’t… I wouldn’t… poor Ferdinand…”

The other engines were shocked; it was very rare that they had ever seen Gordon cry. However, this was what they watched, as Gordon broke down and silently shed a few tears of guilt and sorrow. One by one the others followed, until everyone in the yards was crying over their friend and how they had each treated him.

Then, with a whistle, Ferdinand himself puffed in with an empty lumber train to shunt into the sidings. He was very surprised to see all of the engines crying. Even more surprising was how the engines all jumped as they noticed him, and began to crowd him as much as they could, praising him and celebrating him. Ferdinand was dimly aware that his trucks were being moved, and that he was being shunted to the turntable, surrounded by the engines from all sides.

“This is not right!” Ferdinand puffed, as the engines fell silent. “You’re all being very strange. Did I do something wrong?”

“Absolutely not, Ferdinand. You are such a brave engine,” Emily puffed quietly, as she rolled forward and kissed him on the cheek. Ferdinand blushed as Emily reversed back into place – but soon he had been rotated to face Molly.

“You’re so strong,” Molly whispered, kissing him upon his other cheek and making Ferdinand squirm – now he was facing Belle.

“Our friend and hero,” Belle murmured, kissing him very quickly upon his brow, and moving back almost as quickly.

“You’re such a kind engine, Ferdinand.” This came from Rosie, who kissed him upon his nose, making him giggle.

“You’re all… you girls are… isn’t Rosie… kissing Thomas?” Ferdinand asked with confusion. 

Molly chuckled, moving to him again. “We’re all just showing you how much we love you, Ferdinand. You’re our friend, and we care about you.” With that, Molly kissed him very carefully upon his lips, blushing furiously at her own forwardness before moving back, trying to blend back into the crowd.

“WOW – is it my birthday today?” Ferdinand asked in surprise. “I like my presents!”

The engines all laughed, and then fell silent: Dash had coughed loudly and clearly, to get everyone’s attention. Ferdinand was turned around to face him.

“You’re our friend, Ferdinand. We like having you with us. It seems that lately, some of us,” he said, glaring at certain engines, “haven’t been treating you right.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. We all like you, Ferdinand – you’re our friend. We want you to see how much we like you.”

“That’s… right?”

For once, nobody winced or commented on the phrase being used. “Yes, that’s right, Ferdinand.”

“Come on, Ferdinand, let’s enjoy this party for a while. Then, we’ll head back to Misty Island – Bash will be waiting for us.”

“No he won’t – I’m right here!” Bash called, as he puffed in. “I was helping Ferdinand with his train. So this is where you’ve gotten to!”

“It’s a party!” cried Ferdinand, his face filled with joy and delight. “We’re having a party… with all of our friends!”

“That’s right!”


End file.
